Matt Kenseth looking for record tying fourth Las Vegas win

IT’S ALL ABOUT NUMBERS IN VEGAS: Matt Kenseth holds the top ranking for the most laps led in Sprint Cup Series history at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a total of 515 laps. Kenseth is also ranked third for the best average finish among active Cup series drivers at Las Vegas with his average of 11.5. The driver of the No. 20 DEWALT Toyota has earned three wins, six top-five’s, eight top-ten’s, and one pole award at Las Vegas.

REUNITED, AND IT FEELS SO GOOD: Kenseth reunites with DEWALT for a total of six races this season as the primary sponsor aboard the No. 20 Camry. Kenseth and DEWALT were first paired together in the Sprint Cup Series in 1999 and continued their partnership through the 2009 season. It’s a pairing that Kenseth and his fans are excited about, although this time, there’s a fresh twist on the partnership with it being at Joe Gibbs Racing.

JOE GIBBS RACING AT LAS VEGAS: Joe Gibbs Racing has 44 Sprint Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earning a total of two wins, 11 top-five, and 19 top-ten finishes. The organization also has led for a total of 450 laps, has an average start of 15.0 and an average finish of 14.9 at the 1.5-mile track.

RACE INFO: The Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile) begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 8th. The race will be broadcast live on FOX, Sirius XM Channel 90 and PRN Radio.

Kenseth’s 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Stats:

Starts

Wins

Top 5

Top 10

Laps Led

Earnings

Avg Start

Avg. Finish

2

0

1

1

0

10

$522,692

35.5

20.0

Kenseth’s Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats:

Starts

Wins

Top 5

Top 10

Poles

Laps Led

Earnings

Avg. Start

Avg. Finish

546

31

152

271

13

9,465

$107,686,940

18.3

14.1

From the Cockpit:Matt Kenseth: “the track surface at Vegas has gotten really rough over the last four or five years. I think that getting through the bumps there, especially in Turn 1, and being able to carry a lot of speed is important. Being able to get through those bumps fast, keeping your car turning, and being stable are the keys to a successful day at Vegas lately. The hardest things about Vegas are those bumps honestly. Turns 3 & 4 are pretty smooth so you can get your balance to work well there, but getting through the bumps in Turns 1 & 2 fast enough, while still keeping a decent platform, and keeping the tires on the ground is a bit of a challenge. I’m really excited for our first weekend with DEWALT aboard the car. They’ve been such a tremendous sponsor for me in my career that it’s really special to be partnered with their brand again.”

From the Pit Box:Jason Ratcliff: “After this past weekend at Atlanta with the new aero package, and it really being the first chance we got to see how cars handled with it in a race, I’m looking forward to heading to Las Vegas. Vegas is obviously a great track for Matt (Kenseth) with it being a place that he’s won three times and we just really like those intermediate tracks here at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). We got a top-five finish last weekend at Atlanta, which is another intermediate track, so I’m hoping that we can carry that momentum into this weekend and maybe even pick up another win at Vegas for our No. 20 team like we did in 2013.”